The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.

Look out over a northern meadow in June and you may see a black-and-white bird fluttering over the grasses, singing a bizarre but cheerful jumble of clicks, buzzes, and trills: the song of a Bobolink. Though Audubon's climate model projects this species ideal climate space may increase by more than half, only one-fifth of the species’ current range will remain stable, and the map clearly shows this with the range shifting noticeably to the north. Fortunately, this grassland species is well adapted to seeking out and colonizing new areas. If grasslands can develop in the new climatically suitable areas, the Bobolink may be able to ride the wave of northward shifting climate space.

Species Range Change from 2000 to 2080

The size of the circles roughly indicates the species’ range size in 2000 (left) and 2080 (right).

The amount of overlap between the 2000 circle and the 2080 circle indicates how stable the range will be geographically. Lots of overlap means the bird’s range doesn’t shift much. No overlap means the species will leave its current range entirely.